I'd Rather be In Love
by swirly
Summary: COMPLETED! RH fluff. Hermione overhears a very interesting conversation between Harry and Ron, but before she can stay hidden from them, disaster strikes. Features a Wet!Trio. ;)
1. In Which a Bag Of Sweets Can Be Lethal

I'd Rather Be In Love  
  
Chapter 1  
In Which a Bag of Sweets Can Be Lethal  
  
It was that bright Wednesday afternoon in our favourite trio's fifth year when Hermione's hormones took it upon themselves to rage out of control. She was making her way down to the Gryffindor Quidditch changing rooms after their admirable win against Ravenclaw. Harry had caught the Snitch at the exact same moment that he collided headlong with Cho Chang. Neither was badly hurt, apart from Harry leaving the pitch with a rather red face, despite his jubilance about the outcome of the match.  
  
Hermione grinned to herself as she crossed the lawn to the changing rooms. She was holding a large bag of Honeyduke's nicest sweets for the team, just to say "well done" for winning the match. Harry could forget about Cho (for the time being, at least) once he set his eyes on this lot. And as for Ron ...well, she knew there were no prizes for guessing where all the Chocolate Frogs in the bag would end up.  
  
She reached the door of the changing rooms and at the same moment there was an eruption of boys' raucous laughter from inside. She frowned and raised her hand to knock, but froze when she heard her own name.  
"...Hermione's lover boy!"  
More laughter.  
"Shut up, Dean." That was Ron. And that was his "dead serious" voice.  
"But come on mate, it's obvious! She's the love of your life, the passion of your boyhood, the flame in your hair, the fire of your loins-"  
The laughter became so loud Hermione was sure the windows rattled.  
"Dean, if you don't shut your bloody cakehole right now, I'll chuck you off the team!"  
There was silence after that, apart from the occasional snigger from Dean and Seamus.  
In the meantime, Hermione had slowly backed away from the door, a mixture of emotions churning all the way through her body. She didn't know whether to feel amused, or angry, or surprised. But was she really surprised?  
No.  
She knew that something had started between herself and Ron; something with potential, something that she found frustrating at times, something different than the feelings shared between, say, herself and Harry. What was going on? She wasn't used to feeling like this. She was Hermione Granger, who could feel either happy, sad, angry, or lost ...but never all at the same time like this. She tried to pull herself together but it felt as if she were flying apart - a massive reaction to some inane chatter in a boy's changing room.  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted and her breath caught in her throat as the changing room door banged open. But to her immense relief it was Dean and Seamus who walked out by themselves. They caught sight of Hermione almost at once and grinned at her slyly. She hurriedly held out the bag of sweets and tried not to look too stunned at what she'd just heard.  
"I - I was just - "  
"Thanks," said Seamus, taking a Chocolate Frog and some fudge. "The other two are in there," He jerked his head towards the changing room.  
"Just in case you didn't know," said Dean with a smirk.  
Hermione raised her eyebrows. "I didn't," she lied smoothly, but to no avail. The two boys just gave her knowing looks and left.  
  
She made sure they were completely gone before contemplating what she should do next. Leave? Knock on the door? Eavesdrop? She slapped herself mentally. She couldn't eavesdrop; it just wasn't in her character. And yet ...she was curious to see how Ron felt about it all. While she couldn't decide how she felt, maybe Ron would say something to Harry about how he was feeling? Boy-to-boy sort of thing? An internal battle broke out inside Hermione. To listen in or not to listen in, that was the question. But staying standing where she was too risky. That door was going to open at any moment.   
  
Before she knew what she had done, Hermione found herself crouching down behind the changing rooms, right next to an air vent, which led straight inside. She could hear Harry and Ron's voices, slightly muffled, but most words were still distinguishable.  
"Stupid gits."  
"Pay them no attention, Ron,"  
"You nearly ready?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"What a totally wasted effort," thought Hermione. "They're just going to go now without discussing it. Typical boys-"  
"I really do like her though, Harry,"  
"Yeah, I like her too." There was a somewhat teasing note to Harry's voice.  
"No - I mean - you know... like like her."  
  
"I never would have guessed."  
"Wouldn't you? Well I guess it wasn't - ahem- obvious really, but, you know, the thing is - I just - I don't know, Harry. I just don't know."  
"Don't know what?"  
"If she - you know - if she - er.." Ron obviously wasn't used to such heart-to-hearts. "If she ...likes me too."  
"Ask her."  
"Ask her?" Hermione had to smile at the shocked tone in his voice.  
"Yeah. Communication is the key to any sort of good relationship, Ron." Since when did he become Dr. Feelgood?  
"Well ... I don't know, Harry ...I'll - I'll think about it, yeah?" Hermione heard the sound of the changing room door opening and she stiffened. At that moment, a low buzzing sound filled her ears. She couldn't work out what it was for a second - and then she looked round at the bag of sweets at her feet.  
It was black and yellow with wasps feeding off the slowly melting chocolate.   
Hermione gasped loudly, forgetting all about Harry and Ron. She got up and stumbled backwards, eager to put as much distance between herself and the wasps as possible. She had hated them since having the bad experience of being stung by one when she was younger.  
She had not seen what was lying on the ground just behind her.   
It all happened so fast. Her right foot stepped backwards onto something hard, and a split second later something that felt like a long piece of wood sprang up to collide with the back of her head. Pain exploded everywhere and it felt as if her skull was cracked in two. She fell to her knees and was only vaguely aware of the two pairs of feet running around the back of the changing rooms before she blacked out completely.   
  
~  
A/N: You may recognise the title as a Michelle Branch song, however this is not a songfic, though I do love her music. :)   
  
Constructive criticism is always welcome and do tell me if it has/lacks potential. Rating could change. 


	2. The Wrath of Ron?

Chapter 2  
  
The Wrath of Ron?  
  
Ouch.  
  
Hermione slowly came around, trying to ignore the dull, throbbing pain in her head. She was immediately confused about her surroundings. For some reason, she was still sprawled behind the Gryffindor changing rooms, but now it was night. Pitch black.  
  
A chill swept over her as she realised she was alone. Where was everyone? Harry and Ron? Why didn't they come?   
  
She caught sight of that stupid bag of sweets which had started all this off. It lay innocently at her feet, entirely wasp-free.  
  
Wait. Entirely?  
  
Not quite.  
  
Hermione watched in fascinated horror as a giant wasp gradually emerged from the bag. Its body was about the size of a rugby ball and each leg was the length of a wand, and was lined with thick, black, spiky hairs. The angry yellow stripes on its body seemed to glare right at her, and, as she watched, the hideous specimen turned slowly to face her.  
  
She could only lie there, petrified. She could not move, nor could she speak.   
  
Now it was the wasp's eyes and not its shocking yellow body that bored into her. The throbbing in her head grew worse and her vision went blurry. She blinked, and everything came into focus again. But the wasp was gone. In its place stood .....  
  
Ron.  
  
He glared down at her, the ferociousness in his eyes the exact same as the wasp's. She cowered inwardly. This was a punishment for eavesdropping. He was livid with her. He was never going to talk to her again. She tried to cry out as he turned and began to walk away, but the pain in her head exploded once more -   
  
"Hermione! Hermione!"  
  
She was writhing and wriggling, she needed to try and shout to Ron, try to reason with him, she couldn't let him walk away like that - but someone was holding her down, shouting her name, she was being restricted by something that felt like bed sheets......  
  
......bed sheets?  
  
Hermione let her body go limp and she opened her eyes slowly. Everything was blurry. She winced as bright light flooded in. Closing her eyes again to block out the blinding whiteness, she heard a familiar voice.  
  
".... she just went mad Madam Pomfrey, I tried to hold her down but I think she was having some kind of nightmare. Didn't know she had that much strength in her...."  
  
Harry.  
  
With Harry usually came Ron. She did not particularly want to open her eyes again for the blinding light which flooded into them, but she had to see if Ron was in the hospital wing too, she had to, she /i to...  
  
She opened them just a crack this time and she saw a blurry outline of Madam Pomfrey fussing with the sheets. She blinked and everything came into proper focus as her head stopped hurting slightly. Her eyes fell on Harry, who was sitting to her right, watching her concernedly. The chair next to him was empty. No Ron.  
  
"Now dear, how are you feeling?" said Madam Pomfrey, "It's Friday morning and you've been unconscious for the last two days, so - "  
  
"Two days?" Hermione said incredulously. Her voice was croaky. "Two days? What schoolwork have I missed? Was there a lot? Oh, I don't believe this....." She began to panic and the pain in her head returned sharply.   
  
"Don't worry, Hermione," said Harry, quickly, "We took some notes for you, and I think you're ahead anyway - "  
  
"Who's 'we'?" said Hermione, "You mean you and Ron?" Her voice rose an octave higher as she said his name, remembering the way he had glared at her in her dream.  
  
"Yeah - well... yeah, something like that,"  
  
Madam Pomfrey seemed to sense that the two students needed a proper talk, so she set a goblet next on the table next to Hermione's bed and told her to drink from it whenever the pain in her head came back. With that, she retreated quietly into her office.  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence as Harry stared at his feet. Hermione was bursting with questions. In the end, she lumped them all into one:  
  
"What happened and where's Ron?"  
  
Harry looked up. It was a few moments before he answered. "We're not sure exactly what happened, Hermione. Maybe you'd know more than we do. But last night after the match, me and Ron were coming out of the changing rooms and we heard this - this gasp from somewhere. We weren't sure exactly where it came from but it sounded like you. Then we heard a sort of buzzing then this thump from behind the changing rooms. We ran round the back and we - we found you just lying there with a bag of sweets in front of you and an old broomstick behind you. And - and there were ... swarms of wasps everywhere ..." he broke off with a shudder.  
  
Hermione nodded. "Go on," she whispered.  
  
"We thought you'd been attacked. We were worried sick, we got Dumbledore and he got Madam Pomfrey and they brought you back up here. By the time we got back to our common room, the whole of Gyrffindor had heard about it. The whole school probably knows by now." Hermione cringed at all the fuss she had caused, and Harry continued, "But then we talked to Seamus and Dean and they told us how you'd been hanging around outside the changing rooms for a while. They said it had looked dodgy. And so me and Ron ... well, we gradually came to the conclusion that - that you'd been eavesdropping." He looked very tense at accusing one of his best friends of this, as if he felt she would explode in anger.   
  
Hermione dropped her eyes from Harry's and her cheeks reddened. If she denied it, she would only end up making things worse for herself. "Yes, you and Ron were right. I was eavesdropping. And then after those wasps had scared me, I stepped backwards onto the bottom of that disused broom and the handle must have swung up to hit the back of my head," Harry looked at her but she still could not meet his eyes. "Honestly, it's like something out of a Muggle comedy," she was burbling now, "Only usually then it's a rake, not a broom, and people aren't eavesdropping on their best friends confessing things like that -"  
  
"Hermione, look at me." She slowly raised her eyes to meet Harry's bright green ones, which did not look angry. In fact, they just held a very sad and disappointed look. "Ron isn't here with me because he doesn't know what to think. On one hand, he's angry that you were listening in on us. But on the other hand ... well, he hasn't told me this himself, but I'm pretty sure he feels a sense of relief,"  
  
"Relief?"  
  
"Yeah. Relief that his feelings are - you know - out in the open. You know how he feels and - well - it's really up to you now to tell him if you feel the same way about him. He can just sit back and wait for you to say something now. There's no pressure on his part any more,"  
  
Hermione turned this particular theory over in her brain. That was one way to look at it, she supposed. But what on earth was she meant to say? Yes, she did have feelings for Ron and she realised it properly now. But maybe - maybe she should just concentrate on making friends with him for now - JUST friends - and telling him how she really felt could come later. She ran this idea past Harry, who smiled.  
  
"That sounds good to me," he said, "I'd apologise or something to start off with. But be careful when you do it. He's really unpredictable these days. He could either accept it graciously or bite your head off! There's the bell, I'll see you later, right?"  
  
Hermione felt the corners of her mouth tugging upwards as she said goodbye to Harry. She took a gulp from the goblet Madame Pomfrey had given her (all the talking and thinking had made her head hurt again) and fell softly asleep. One of her last thoughts before she drifted into unconsciousness was that it really wasn't too bad having Dr. Feelgood as one of her best friends .... not bad at all....  
  
***  
  
The whole of Gryffindor house looked around at Hermione as she climbed awkwardly through the portrait hole that evening. Madam Pomfrey had insisted that she stay in the hospital wing all day, despite her pleas of needing to catch up in her lessons. However, the rest had paid off. Her head now felt perfectly fine.  
  
Everyone stared for a moment longer, then turned back to whatever they were doing. No one asked if she was alright - she supposed the word must have spread that she had been eavesdropping. She didn't care. Hermione Granger was not made to lap up sympathy, after all.   
  
For a few moments, she just stood there, not really knowing what to do. Then she caught sight of Harry and Ron at a table in the corner, playing wizard chess. She knew better than to disturb Ron during a game - particularly when he could possibly be angry with her anyway - but it was now or never. She knew that the longer she left it, the harder it would be. She watched Ron's profile, taking in his perfect, straight nose and pale freckled skin. She could see the bright blue in his eyes even from this distance away, sparkling as he picked up one of his pieces and made the final move, knocking the last of Harry's off the board.  
  
"Checkmate!" he said triumphantly, and laughed at Harry's annoyed expression.   
  
Well, at least he was in a good mood now. She took a deep breath and made her way over to the table, her heart thumping in crazy anticipation.  
  
Sitting down next to them, she cleared her throat nervously. Both boys looked up with contrasting reactions. Harry's eyes widened, then he gave her a half-smile. The look in his eyes clearly said "good luck." Ron, on the other hand, frowned at her. But, she noticed with immense relief, his look was nothing like the death glare he had given her in her dream. "Yes?" she jumped at the snappy tone in his voice.  
  
"I - I - um...." she began. The blood rose to her cheeks; she could feel it, "I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry for listening in on you on Wednesday. I was only wondering what you were going to say - and - I was - kind of curious -"  
  
"Curiosity killed the cat, Hermione," said Ron smoothly, and Harry tried (unsuccessfully) to conceal his snigger. They were obviously remembering a certain event in their second year. She looked at Ron and noticed he wasn't frowning as hard - in fact, was that a twinkle in his eye?   
  
"Don't worry about it," he said airily, and grinned at her.  
  
Hermione blinked. "You mean - you were never angry in the first place?"  
  
"A bit. But not now."  
  
"So you - you were PRETENDING to be angry with me just now?"  
  
"Good actor, aren't I?" His grin grew wider.  
  
"Ronald Weasley, I cannot BELIEVE you would make me - make me GROVEL like that!"  
  
"But seriously Hermione - no, I really am being serious now ..... eavesdropping is just ... just not you. It's - it's sly."  
  
"I know. And again, I'm sorry."  
  
"It's alright. You'll just have to make it up to me in some way," he smirked at her.  
  
He saw her raise her eyebrows.  
  
"Not THAT way!" he said, and they all burst out laughing.  
  
"Oh, I don't know," said Harry, leaning back in his chair and eyeing his best friends, "Give it a couple of years," he grinned at them.  
  
This time, they both blushed.  
  
~  
  
A/N: I have used and modified a quote or two from the Jacqueline Wilson "Girls" series, because they're so perfect for this story. I still enjoy those books, being the big kid that I am. :/  
  
Thanks for the reviews! They really do mean a lot. 


	3. True in Her Mind, Though Maybe not in Hi...

A/N: Thank you to all you lovely people who have reviewed! Reviews make me happy.  
  
I'm sorry that this took so long to finish but what with OoTP coming out ... and .. other things .... it's taken me months to write this. Oh well. This fic is now AU, as are many others I don't doubt. :(  
  
b Chapter 3  
  
True in her Mind, Though maybe Not in his/b  
  
It was one of those warm, pleasant days when the sun shines brightly but does not shroud you in a sticky heat and a gentle breeze ruffles your hair. Students were dotted around outside Hogwarts castle, some lying down and enjoying the sunshine, others seated on the stone benches in the courtyard, earnestly going through their OWL papers. The actual exams had finished two days ago, but Neville Longbottom still seemed nervous about his results, probably about what his grandmother would say if he had performed abysmally. He sighed and stuffed a dog-eared Potions paper back into his bag, then smiled warmly down at the petite, pretty blonde girl cuddled into his side.  
  
Some thirty feet away from Neville, two lone figures were sprawled on their backs by the lake, their eyes closed, soaking up the warm sunshine. Hermione (who had already been through all her papers) and Ron (who turned green at the mere thought of his OWL results) had decided to come out and enjoy the weather while Harry went up to the Owlery to deliver a letter to Sirius. Hermione noticed he had been gone a while though - maybe he'd bumped into Ginny on the way there. She smirked to herself, glad that after Ginny's years of trying to get Harry to notice her, he'd finally seen her as the beautiful, headstrong girl she was, and not just Ron's sister. So. Harry was with Ginny. Seamus was dating Lavender and Parvati was with Dean. Neville was with a Hufflepuff fourth year. Everyone seemed to be paired off - so much had changed since the beginning of the year ... hormones had raged ... there had been plenty of flirting and kissing among all the fifth years since September. All the fifth years except Ron and Hermione, that is.  
  
Hermione sighed as she stared up into the cloudless sky. It had been six months since the little "incident" with the sweets and her concussion afterwards. She had not talked to Ron all year about where their relationship was going - or where it icould/i be going, she reminded herself quickly. She had been so caught up in the exams and schoolwork ... and then there was the fact that Voldemort had been laying low - suspiciously low for a Dark Lord who had just returned with so much wrath inside him....  
  
Hermione gave herself a little shake, willing herself not to think of such disturbing things - and at that moment, she heard a little snore next to her. She turned onto her side and smiled at Ron's sleeping form. Yes, there had been the awkward moments this year ... every time they had accidentally brushed hands ... the time he had caught her around the waist when she had stumbled on the castle steps .. yet neither had attempted to talk to the other about their feelings. She remembered ithat/i day in the Quidditch changing rooms when Ron had found it so hard to talk to Harry about how he felt - iHarry/i his best boy-mate - so how on earth would he ever work up the courage to talk to iher/i? She supposed it was up to her to make a go of it. And there were only four days left until the end of term. Great.   
  
She watched Ron enjoy his light sleep. His chest rose and fell slowly as the sun beat down on his freckled face. She had never before appreciated how cute those freckles were, and she felt a sudden, unexplainable urge to count each one.   
  
She also felt a sudden urge to lean over and kiss him.  
  
iHermione Granger, you did NOT just think that. Do something about this soppy mood you're in immediately before you really do kiss him and scare the poor lad out of his wits./i   
  
He looked so at peace. And so adorable. She'd have to do something about that. Or she might find herself giving in to the temptation of his freckled, soft-looking cheek. With stealth she didn't even know she had, Hermione stood up and slipped down to the lake's edge. Despite the hot weather, the water was fairly cold and the cool water was a pleasant shock to Hermione's sweaty palms as she leaned over and scooped out a handful. She straightened up and took a clumsy step back towards Ron. Most of the lake water trickled from her hands and soaked into the dusty soil.   
  
"Nice try, Hermione." Ron's voice cut through the peaceful silence and she jumped. He had opened his eyes and was now grinning at her lazily.   
  
iRonald Weasley, don't grin at me with your lovely soft mouth like that or I'll-/i  
  
Without warning, she flicked the last droplets of water from her hands straight at his face, making it his turn to jump. She couldn't help but notice where they all landed: some hung off his eyelashes, some ran off his cheeks, some meandered down his neck and some splattered his shirt. One made its way slowly down to the tip of his nose. She giggled.   
  
"I'll get you back for that!" he grumbled, attempting to sit up; the stuffy weather seemed to have made him lazy and sluggish however, and he flopped back to the ground again. "Later,"   
  
Hermione sat down next to him. It was now or never.   
  
"Ron, I ... I wanted to - to talk to you about ..."  
  
He turned his face towards her. "About what, Hermione?" Was it her, or was that a spark of hope in his eyes?  
  
"About - about ... er ... about how you think you've done in your OWLs," iYou stupid CHICKEN!/i  
  
His face fell for a second, then he raised his eyes to meet hers. He seemed to read her mind in a split second and another lazy grin slowly spread across his face. "Liar," he said, in a voice that was barely louder than a whisper.  
  
Ha. She had found a way to catch him out here. "Am I, Ron?" she said sweetly, "Why, what did you ithink/i I wanted to talk to you about?"  
  
His grin was replaced by a look of pure panic and Hermione swallowed the urge to laugh.   
  
"Er - I thought - maybe ... er-"  
  
Hermione raised a slightly trembling finger to his lips. iOh my God, I'm actually doing this/i "I think," she said quietly, "I think we've been deluding ourselves for far too long." She was surprised at how steady her voice was. His bright blue eyes were penetrating her brown ones so deeply that she was surprised a blue beam hadn't erupted out of the back of her head. "I think that we have something special going here. I think-" She hesitated. "I think I love you, Ron Weasley."  
  
There was silence. For those few moments it was just her and Ron in the world. There was no school behind her. No lake in front of her. No grounds around her. Just her, with the index finger of her right hand pressed firmly against Ron Weasley's soft lips. Everything was still.  
  
Then slowly, very slowly, Ron reached for her hand and gently took her finger from his lips, interlacing each of her fingers with his own as he did so. Hermione felt the warmth of his hand spread through hers and right up her arm, then through her entire body. She noted how their fingers seemed to interlock so perfectly.  
  
She was so busy thinking about their hands that she didn't immediately register that he was covering her mouth with his.   
  
They were kissing.  
  
She wanted to keep her eyes open, to look at him, but her vision went blurry so she let her eyes flutter shut. This wasn't awkward. This was beautiful. It was warm and it was fuzzy and she felt a hundred different sensations explode inside her.   
  
For how long they kissed, she wasn't sure. When Ron finally pulled away, his breathing was hoarse and his eyes seemed a little out of focus. Hermione half smiled.  
  
"Hermione .... we just kissed,"  
  
"You really have a knack for stating the obvious,"  
  
He rolled his eyes. A shadow of the old Ron was back. Hermione was suddenly aware of everything again: the castle, the grounds, the people around them. Ron looked a little awkward. "So ... so does that- does that make us ...."  
  
"I suppose that makes us a couple, yes," said Hermione quietly. It seemed so surreal to be saying it. Saying it confirmed it. She had just kissed Ron Weasley and now they were a couple. iOh, GODDDD!/i  
  
She wasn't sure what to do now. Everything suddenly became a little awkward between them. Slowly, Hermione moved closer to Ron and he placed a long, gangly arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him. All at once the awkwardness disappeared and she decided she had never felt so peaceful and at ease. "A couple," he repeated quietly. "Yeah, that sounds .. that sounds good."  
  
They sat like that for a little while, happily watching the little blue sparkles on the surface of the lake. The leaves in the trees around them rustled peacefully in the wind as though whispering, sharing secrets.   
  
"You two look cosy," Ron and Hermione started but stayed sitting close as Harry grinned and sat down next to them. "So what have you two been up to?"  
  
Hermione smiled up at Ron. "We've been - er - well we've worked things out and now we're - we're-"  
  
"A couple," finished Ron. "We're together." He half smiled, half smirked. "Bet you never saw that coming, did you, Harry?" They all laughed quietly.   
  
The three of them sat and watched the sun go down. Hermione couldn't believe how peaceful and perfect everything was: she was the girlfriend of Ron Weasley and she was sitting with her two best friends in the world, watching the sunset. Then Harry's voice cut through the silence.  
  
"It's going to be hard, you know. Going back to the Dursley's this summer. I mean, it's always difficult, but now I'm with Ginny and everything..." He trailed off. Hermione looked at him, the peaceful feeling suddenly ebbing away.   
  
Ron sat up and looked round at Harry. "I've been thinking about this. Mate, we're having you over to the Burrow the second we can. I'm going to ask Dumbledore the day before we break up if we can have you round in the first week,"  
  
"Excellent," said Harry happily, "Thanks, Ron"  
  
Hermione sat back and smiled at her two friends. She could never remember a time in her life when she had felt more blessed. She leaned against Ron again.  
  
"Hey, Harry?" Ron was talking over her head to his best friend in a would-be casual voice. "I need your help with something,"  
  
"After your invite to the Burrow? Anything," said Harry, laughing.  
  
"Hermione threw water on me earlier. Want to help me get her back?"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
"NO!" said Hermione, struggling to sit up, but she was too late. Both boys took a wrist each and dragged her towards the lake's edge.   
  
"You wouldn't DARE! Ron, it was only a bit of water!" In that moment, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley stopped being a couple and went back to being bickering best friends.  
  
"Aw come on Hermione, it's the end of term, plus it's boiling today-"  
  
"I mean it! Push me in and I'll-"  
  
SPLASH.  
  
Both boys burst out laughing; Hermione broke the surface and shook the hair that had slicked down her face out of her eyes. She looked livid.   
  
"Hermione, you did say push you in!" said Ron, rather liking the way the lake water made her robes cling to her so tightly. Hermione glared at him.   
  
"What I imeant/i was push me in and I'll kill you!"  
  
Both boys laughed harder, completely unperturbed. In fact, they were so busy laughing that they didn't see Hermione reach across and grab an ankle each. (A/N: Not iboth/i of the boys' ankles of course, because that would have meant she had four arms, and however brilliant Hermione Granger is, she does not have four arms). With the most astonishing strength, she jerked her hands backwards and before Harry and Ron knew what had happened, they had landed on their arses. With another shot of strength and adrenaline, Hermione planted her feet into the soft banks of the river and dragged the two boys into the water.  
  
It was her turn to laugh as she watched the two boys shake their sodden fringes out of their eyes. "I think you two underestimated my strength just a little bit,"   
  
"Too right," muttered Harry, trying to wipe the water off his glasses with his robes, only to find that they were soaked, too. Ron seemed to be eyeing her with a different kind of respect. "Wow," he said quietly, "That's the last time I try and get even with you again!"  
  
"What on earth are you three doing?" Ginny Weasley had arrived at the lake's edge, eyeing the trio in the utmost amazement. Harry immediately looked very embarrassed. "We're just taking a swim, what does it look like?" he said quickly.  
  
Hermione gave Ginny a knowing grin and the younger girl cottoned on straight away. "Come on, Harry," she said kneeling down by the lake's edge and holding out her hand, "Let's get you out of those wet things!" She raised her eyebrows suggestively.  
  
Ron gave a splutter of indignation as Harry walked hand-in-hand with Ginny back up to the castle. "What did she mean by- she's too young for that- iGet him out of those wet things?/i"  
  
"I think she was only kidding, Ron."  
  
"She had better bloody be."  
  
The awkwardness had settled upon them again. It felt strange to be having such a conversation while treading the cool lake water.   
  
"Ron?" she said quietly, "I'm glad we've - you know - talked. Before we broke up for the summer. I feel better now. Lighter."  
  
"Me too," he said, "I feel a right coward for not saying anything to you for all these months,"  
  
"No, it was me. I already knew how you felt, I heard when I ... you know ..."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
They treaded the water for a few moments longer, just looking at each other. She was just wondering whether she should suggest they get out when she felt his arms snake around her waist and he pulled her towards him. She rested her hands on his shoulders as they moved closer to kiss again. This one was even better than the first now that they were both wet, this was fiery, passionate. Ron varied his pressure on her lips, his hands were everywhere, her shoulders, her bottom, her stomach .... then they started moving upwards.....  
  
Hermione pulled away from him. She gently took his hands and pulled them away. "Not there," she whispered, "Not now. Not yet."  
  
She found it painful to tear her eyes away the longing in his, but she knew that it wasn't right, not just yet.  
  
"That's OK,"  
  
Hermione leaned her forehead against his and smiled. He smiled back. "Tell me, Hermione Granger," he murmured, placing his hands on her shoulders, "Would you rather be in love with the richest, best looking boy in the world ... or be with me?"  
  
She closed her eyes. That had to be the easiest question she had ever been asked, easier than anything any teacher had ever asked her in lessons.   
  
"Simple," she breathed into his ear, "I'd rather be in love...." She planted a small kiss on his cheek, ".... with you."  
  
They embraced in the water for a long time.  
  
i'Cause when I'm with you, I feel whole  
  
And there's no better feeling in the world  
  
But without you I'm alone  
  
And I'd rather be in love with you./i  
  
Michelle Branch, iI'd Rather Be In Love/i  
  
A/N: So, that's it. All done. I had a really fun time writing this, but I'm still trying to improve my writing style, so if you review (and you WILL, won't you? :D) constructive criticism is always welcome. 


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